Top US Democrats Warn Trump Against Firing Russia Probe Investigators

"If Trumpfires Rosenstein, there will be a strong reaction since the reasonable assumption will be that the president is trying to limit or even fire Mueller", said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. The top Justice Department official in the Russian Federation investigation wanted Trump's support in fighting off document demands from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes.

"This weekend, as Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee prepared to use their majority to try to declassify a four-page memo purporting to show Federal Bureau of Investigation abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Republicans on the Senate committee used television appearances to echo warnings from the Department of Justice about the risks of releasing the memo".

Questions were raised by some lawmakers about why Rosenstein did not recuse himself after he was interviewed by the special counsel's team about his role in the Comey firing. Rosenstein, it would appear, is willing to make certain compromises to please his boss.

Among other things, it has become clear that Rod Rosenstein must resign. On the subject of Mueller's investigation, CNN reported, Rosenstein demurred.

A copy of the formerly top secret classified memo.

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"Nobody has asked me to take a loyalty pledge, other than the oath of office", Rosenstein said. Rosenstein supervises special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, given Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recusal.

He's been told by advisers dismissing Rosenstein would be fraught with peril.

"I'm saying it on behalf of the White House, and that's that no changes are going to be made at the Department of Justice", Shah said.

Regardless of what Rosenstein may have meant when he allegedly answered he was on Trump's team, it appears that Trump has repeatedly tried to get officials to side with him while he and members of his close circle are under investigation for the alleged collusion with Russian Federation.

On Jan. 5, Rosenstein traveled to Florida to speak to the Palm Beach Forum Club about the rule of law.

Manafort alleged that Mueller exceeded his authority and that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein - facing possible ouster by a fuming Trump in the wake of the memo's release - granted the special counsel "carte blanche to investigate and pursue criminal charges in connection with anything he stumbles across".

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein seems a particularly sharp example of the tricky ethical choices facing many in the Trump administration and the murky moral waters in which they swim.

So why is Rosenstein's name mentioned here? Brand, the associate attorney general, is also a Republican from the Bush era.

But the memo wastes little time mentioning the deputy attorney general.

The memo alleges that Steele told Ohr he was "desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president".

Now, Rosenstein is among the DOJ officials who are arguing against the release of the memo.